Ore beneficiating apparatus



Feb. 24, 1959 N. A. HEYER 2,874,837

ORE BENEFICIATING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 1, 195a 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. NORBERT A. HEYER BY. DES JARDINS. ROBINSON 5 KEISER HIS ATTOR NEYS Feb. 24, 1959 v N. A. HEYER ORE BENEFICIATING APPARATUS 1 SheetsSheet -2 Filed Feb. 1, 1956 p I I n I lOl I INVENTOR. NORBERT A HEYER BY DES JARDINS, ROBINSON 8 KEISER HIS ATTORNEYSv Feb. 24, 1959 N. A. HEYER 2,874,837

- ORE BENEFICIATING APPARATUS I Filed Feb. 1, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. NORBER T A. H EYER DES JARDINS, ROBINSON 8. KEISER Hl$ ATTORNEYS Feb. 24, 1959 N. A. HEYER 2,874,837

ORE BENEFICIATING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 1, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 F/ 'zz INVENTOR.

NORBE RT A. H EYER BY DES JARDI NS, ROBINSON 8. KEISER HIS AT' JBNEYS ORE BENEFICIATING APPARATUS Norbert A. Heyer, Winchester, Va., assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to John J Wanner, Winchester, Va. 7

Application February 1, 1956, SerialNo. 562,842 16 Claims. (Cl. 209-12) This invention relates to an improved apparatus for beneficiating ore and, more particularly, to a hydraulically operated system wherein each of the individual pieces of apparatus may be separately controlled as to speed and frequency of operation so as to lend flexibility to the system and enable it to be readily adapted to the processing of different types or grades of ore. Additionally, my invention comprises important-improvements in the manner of combining the individual pieces of apparatus so as to derive increased operating efiiciency therefrom, and it also extends to improvements in the individual pieces of apparatus themselves so as to achieve, from the system the highest possible degree of utility.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hydraulically operated ore beneficiating system in which each individual piece of apparatus is separately controlled so that it may be adjusted as to speed and frequency of operation independently of the remaining pieces of apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ore beneficiating apparatus in which the individual pieces of apparatus are so arranged with respect to one another as to provide for increased operating efiiciency of the system.

Another object of the invention is to provide for improvements in the ore washing and classifying apparatus of the system. p

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved jig cell in which the values are separated from the ore with increased efiiciency.

With these and other objects and view which will become apparent from the following description, the invention includes certain novel combinations of apparatus and features of construction, the essential elements 'of which are set forth in the appended claims and a preferred form or embodiment of which will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specification.

In the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of my improvedore beneficiating apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the hydraulic circuits of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the driving motors for the washer shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is adetail view of one of the roller bearings on which the tank of the ore washer is supported.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the slide valves for controlling the discharge of fine ore from the washer.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the coarse ore discharge chute taken along the line 7-7 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a schematic plan view of the washer showing the location of the roller bearings.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the ore classifying and jigging apparatus with parts cut away to show the internal construction thereof. l I

Patented Feb. 24, 1959 Fig. 10 is ,a cross-sectional view taken along the line 10-10 in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the height adjustment indicator for the discharge well shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 12-12 in Fig. 9.

Fig. 13 is an end view illustrating the arrangement of water nozzles within the trommel shown in Fig. 9.

ice

Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line- 14-14 in Fig. 12.

As heretofore mentioned, the present invention relates to an improved type of ore beneficiating apparatus in which each individual piece of equipment is hydraulically operated and controlled independently of the remaining, pieces of apparatus whereby the system may be readily adapted to handle different grades and types of ore. At the same time, the size and weight of my improved ore beneficiating plant is reduced to a minimum thereby facilitating its ready removal to a new location when the need therefor arises. Also, I have designed the plant so that the ore is handled by purely mechanical means from the time it enters the washer until it leaves the jig cells with the exception of the picking belt where manual handling is, of course, required. In this way, the labor costs involved in upgrading the ore by the use of my apparatus is reduced to as great an extent as possible. At the same time, each individual piece of the ore beneficiating apparatus has been carefully designed for maximum efficiency so as to result in the best possible upgrading of the ore. While the particular apparatus hereinafter to be described is especially suited to the upgrading of man" ganese ores of the type mined in the Appalachian reglon' in which the ore is mixed with clay and must first be separated therefrom before further beneficiation of the ore can take place, itwill be appreciated that the procedures and apparatus utilized herein are also applicable to the processing of other types of ores.

In the general layout of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, reference numeral 20 indicates a prime mover which may conveniently take the form of a diesel engine when the plantis located in a location remote from any source of electric power. if electric power is available at the plant site, the prime mover 20 may desirably take the form of an electric motor of suitable type and size for furnishing the power required to drive the various pieces of apparatus hereinafter to be described. 'As indicated in Fig. '1, the prime mover is required to drive a crusher 21, an electric generator 22, and a pair of hydraulic pumps 23 and 24. The electricity produced by the-genf erator 22 is used to provide illumination and to drive ..small electric power tools such as drills, grinders} etc.,

which may be required for maintenance of the plant. Of course, if electrical power is accessible at the plant site, the generator 22 may be dispensed with.

'In addition to the prime mover, crusher and pumps,

the ore beneficiating plantincludes an ore washer and classifier 30, an ore conveyor belt 31, a picking belt 32,

a return conveyor belt 33, a trommel 34, and a plurality of jig cells 35 (Fig. 9). The conveyor belts 31, 32 and 33 are driven by a'fluid pressure motor 39 (Fig. 1) which is connected thereto by suitable driving means. The ore, as received from the mine, isplaced in the tank of the washer 3G with sufiicient water to provide for the removal E of clay and sand from the ore. The washer also func tions to separate the ore into fine and coarse fractions,

. p the fine ore consisting of pieces less than %inch in diameter, and the coarse ore consisting of pieces greater than /s inch in diameter. The coarse ore is delivered onto the.

picking belt 32 through a coarse ore discharge chute 40 whereupon it is carried to the left as'indicated bythe: arrow in Fig. 1 to enable pickers to remove the ore from the foreign material such as stones, wood and other debris and place it on the return belt 33. Alternatively, if the amount of foreign material mixed with the ore is not great, the foreign material may be removed from the belt 32 and the ore permitted to fall into a chute 41 and delivered thereby onto the return belt 33. The belt 33- carriesthe large pieces of ore into a crusher 21 which reduces it to pieces smaller than inch in diameter. The crushed ore is delivered onto the conveyor belt- 31 which also receives the fine ore from the washer through a; fine ore discharge chute 42. As shown in Fig. 9, the ore is discharged from the belt 31 into the upper end of the trommel 34 where any remaining particles of sand or clay are washed from the ore by a series of water knives 43 after which the ore is further classified as to size by the trommel' screens from whence it is delivered into the jig cells which efiect final separation of the values from the ore.

It willbe observed that from the time the ore enters the plant until the upgraded ore is removed therefrom, the processing of the ore is entirely automatic with the exception of the hand picking of the larger pieces of ore on the picking belt. Hence, with my improved form of apparatus the amount of labor required in the processing of the ore is reduced to the smallest amount practical so that an economical and elficient method of beneficiating the low grade ore is provided.

The construction of the ore washer 30 is shown in Figs. 3 to 8, inclusive, and comprises a cylindrical tank 45 open at the top and closed at the bottom by a flat circular plate 46. The tank is provided with a center post or column 47 which passes through the bottom plate 46 to which it is welded to form a water tight joint. The lower. end. of the column 47 seats in a bearing cup 48 which is secured to a base 49 on which the washer is supported.

Situated in the bottom of the tank 45 are six baflies 52 which radiate outwardly from the center column 47 like the spokes of a wheel. Each balfie is secured to the center column 47 and to the bottom and sides of the tank and each is provided with apair of rectangular openings 53 in the lower edge thereof to permit leveling of the water in the bottom of the tank. Each baffle is also provided with a corner opening 54 at its outer end to' permit the fine ore settling into the bottom of the tank to move around to the fine ore discharge chute 42. Each bafile 52 is also provided on its upper edge with afiat metal strip 55 running lengthwise of the battle to form, on each baifie, a supporting surface for a perforated circular plate 56 (Fig. 4) which serves as a screen for separating the coarse ore from the fine ore. The holes 57 in the plate 56 may, for example, be inch in diameter so as to permit pieces of ore smaller than this in size to pass through the holes 57 and fall into the bottom of the tank between the baflles 52. The plate 56 is secured in place on the tops of the battles and provides a support for a grizzly 58 (Fig. 1). The grizzly consists of a plurality of substantially radially extending bars 59 and a plurality of concentric rings 60 which reston top of. the bars 59 and are welded thereto. The grizzly is fastened to the tank 45 so as to move therewith and provides a coarse grating overlying the screening plate 56. The bars may, for-example, be spaced 3 inches apart and the bars themselves may be made of 4 inch circular rods.

In the case of the clayey manganese ores found in the Appalachian region, it is desirable to provide means for breaking up the clay formations surrounding the lumps or ore, or adhering thereto, and preventing mud balls from forming in the washer as the latter is oscillated back and forth. For this purpose, I have provided a plurality of mud ball spikes 61 which may be secured to the flat strip 55'. in such a manner asto project upwardly through the screen- 56 and the grizzly 58 although they could, of

course,- be secured to the plate 56 or the grizzly 58' if The: spikes 61 are preferably formed of difierent lengths as illustrated in Fig; 3 so as to increase their efliciency in disintegrating mud balls of varying sizes.

The tank 45 is supported for oscillatory movement about the pivot formed by the center column 47 and the bearing 48 by means of three roller bearings 66, 67 and 68 (Fig. 8) each of which; as shown in Fig. 5, includes an upper block 69 secured to the bottom plate 46 of the tank, a lower block 70 secured to the base 49, and a frusto-conical' roll 71 received in dished-out pockets 72 formed in each of the blocks. Hence, as the tank 45 is oscillated back and forth by means hereinafter to be described, the tank will be elevated at either end of the stroke by the roll riding up out of the pockets 72. The tank will, therefore, receive both horizontal and vertical oscillatory movement. It is to be noted that the bearing 68 is provided with upper and lower blocks 69 and 70 which are thicker than the corresponding blocks of bearings 66 and 67 so as to elevate the side of the tank beneath which the bearing 68 is located and to also provide a wobble motion to the tank due to the shifting of the high point of the tank as the latter is oscillated about its central axis.

The means for oscillating the tank 45 comprises a pair of fluid pressure motors 75 and 76 (Fig. 1) mounted on opposite sides of the tank. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, each motor includes a hydraulic cylinder 77 pivoted at one end to a bracket 78 attached to the base 49. The motor also includes a' piston rod 79 connected by a universal joint to a link 80 having an eye 81 engaging a trunnion 82 secured to the side of the tank 45.

Means is provided for automatically reversing the motors 75 and 76 after a predetermined extent of movement of the piston rod 79 in each direction of movement.

For this purpose, the piston rod 79 has connected'theretoa control bar 83 supported within a guide 84 and carrying a pair of reversing dogs 85 and 86. The dogs are adapted to cooperate with triggers 87 and 88, respectively, of a reversing valve 89 to cause automatic reciprocation of the piston rod 79. The stroke of the fluid pressure motors may beadjusted by varying the spacing between the dogs 85 and 86 in a well known manner.

The. details of construction of the coarse ore discharge the. outside of the tank: 45. The side wall of the tank is provided with a V-shaped opening through which the coarse: ore may pass from the tank into the box portion of the: chute 40'. The box 94' is provided with a transverse partition 96 which is provided with an opening 97' for. permitting ore to pass from a fine screen 98 in the bottom of:the box to a coarser screen 99 which lies above a fine screen: 100 lying above a water discharge spout 101. The purpose of: the screens 98 and 100 is to permit any sand and other fine material adhering to the ore to pass therethrough and into the water discharge spout 101. while the ore'is prevented from so doing and is delivered from the chute through a spout 102.

Theiconstruction of the. fine ore discharge chute 42 is illustrated in Fig. 3 and is, in general, similar to that of the'coarse ore dischargechute 40. As seen in Fig. 3, the chute comprises a sheet metal box mounted on the outside of the tank 45 adjacent a pair of fine 'ore discharge openings 106 provided in the sidewall of the tank. The ore passing throughthe openings 106 moves across a fine-screen 107 followed by a coarse screen 108 situatedin'the-bottom of the box 105. A medium screen 109 lies beneath the screen 108 and above a fine screen 110. Hence, fine ore discharged from the tank first passes across. the fine: screen 107 where any fine sand andelay will be permitted totallth'rough the screen and into the water discharge spout 111. The ore will then pass onto the coarse screen 108 through: which. pieces of ore will fall onto the: screen 109. The finer pieces of ore willfall through the 's'c'reen' 109 onto the fine-screen 110' which-will further separate the sand and clay from the ore, the

sand and clay passing through the screen into the water discharge spout 111 while the fine ore will be delivered from the ore discharge spout 112.onto the belt 31.

To prevent the watercontained in the tank 45 from running out through the fine ore discharge-openings 106, a pair of slide valves 115 (Fig. 6) are mounted for sliding movement on the outside of the tank by guides 116. Thus, the openings 106 may be manually opened when it is desired to discharge the fine ore from the tank onto the belt 31. At other times, the slide valves 115 are maintained closed so as to prevent the water in the tank from escaping through the openings 106. t

The water level within the tank 45 is normally maintained below the bottom of the coarse ore outlet opening 95 (Fig. 7) so that it is unnecessary-to provide means for closing off this opening. The six bafiies 52 operate during the oscillation of the tank to slosh thewater in the tank up through the screen plate 56 and grizzly 58 so as to provide a washing" action on the material lying on top of the plate and the grizzly. The water which is relied upon for the washing action may be run into the tank through a hose in order to maintain the water level adjacent the tops of the baffles 52. Any water which passes through the coarse outlet opening 95 and the water which passes through the fine ore discharge openings 106 will be separated from the ore within the discharge chutes 40 and 42 and will be discharged through the spouts 101 and 111 so that only dewatered ore will pass out of the spouts 102 and 112. i

As previously mentioned herein, the ore delivered to the conveyor belt 31 by the crusher 21 and the fine ore discharge chute 42 is conveyed to the upper end of a trommel 34 which comprises two washing sections 120 and 121 (Fig. 9) and three classifier sections 122, 123 and 124. The trommel is constructed as a unitary cylinder and is provided with a plurality of bearing rings 125 each of which is supported by three rollers 126 (Fig. 12) secured to the framework of the trommel housing 127. At its lower end, the trommel is fitted with a driving spider 128 which is operatively connected to a driving motor 129 (Fig. 9) supported on the framework of the trommel housing 127, the motor preferably being of the fluid operated type.- The Washing sections 120 and 121 of the trommel are fitted on their interior surfaces with longitudinally extending angles 135 (Fig. 12) which form ledges that pick up the ore and carry it to the top of the trommel after which it is dropped through the water spray provided by nozzles 136 (Fig. 13) fitted on the ends of cross pipes 137 which branch oif from a header pipe 139 (Fig. 9). [The speed of rotation of the trommel provided by the motor 129 should, of course, be such as to permit the cascading action to occur and should not be so great as to cause the ore to be carried all the way around by centrifugal force. As indicated in Fig. 13, the water nozzles 136' are so shaped as to provide flat intersecting sprays of water so as to thoroughly scrub the particles of ore passing therethrough as they cascade within the trommel. Each pair of nozzles 136 carried by a cross pipe 137 may aptly be termeda water knife inasmuch as the intersecting sprays provided thereby tend to sever from the pieces of ore any sand or clay adhering thereto and thereby thoroughly clean off the ore entering the trommel.

1 The water, together with the particles of sand and clay,

pass through the fine mesh screens of which sections 120' and121 are constructed and are caught by a trough 140 provided with drain spouts 141 and 142 (Fig. 9). The classifying screens provided in sections 122, 123 and 124 are preferably made of perforated plates bent into the The perforations of section 122 are form of cylinders. desirably constituted of Va inch circular holes while the perforations in sections'123 and 124 are made progressively larger and are preferably A inch holes and 5 inch holes, respectively.

. Beneaththe classifier sections 122, 123 and 124 are' receivers 145, 146 and 147, respectively,rfor catching the ore passing through the screens of each of these sections.

There is'also provided an end receiver 148 to catch the larger pieces of ore which fail to pass through the perforations in any of the screens of the classifier sections. Accordingly, the receiver 145 will contain ore which is less than A; inch in diameter, the receiver 146 will contain ore which is less than inch in diameter, the receiver 147 will contain ore which is less than 5 inch in di ameter, and the receiver 148 will contain ore which is greater than 1 inch in diameter.

Each receiver is generally funnel-shaped and is fitted at itsbottom with a distributor comprised of a Y fitting 150 and branch pipes 151 and 152 which spread the ore evenly in jig hoppers 155, 156,157 and 158 which under-lie the receivers 145, 146, 147 and 148, respectively.

Each jig hopper is associated with a jig cell 35 all of which are of similar construction. As best shown in Fig. 12, each jig cell is comprised of a hutch 160 which is generally box-shaped and which is divided into two sections by a transverse partition plate 161. In one section is located a plywood plunger 162 and in the other section is an inclined grating 163 .which is covered by the screen 164 containing openings of suitable size for the particular. size of ore being handled 'by the jig. In general, the size of the openings in each screen should be considerably less than that of the ore which is to be classified thereon. On the left-hand side of the hutch as viewed in Fig..12, there is provided a water trough 165 which receives water from a pipe 166. Waterfrom the trough 165 enters the hutch 160-through a plurality of openings 167 formed in the side wall of the hutch. On the right-hand side of the hutch, as viewed in Fig. 12, is a tailing trough 168 for receiving the light material which overflows the right-hand edge 169 of the hutch.

As seen in Fig. 12, the bottom of the hutch is formed by a pair of inclined plates and 176, the plate 175 being provided at its lower end with an opening 177 which is normally closed by a gate valve 178 that may be opened by turning screw 179 to permit the hutch product to be discharged into a trough 180. The plate 176, as shown in Figs. 10 and 12, is pierced by a vertically disposed sleeve 181 which serves as a guide for a discharge tube 182. The tube 182 passes upwardly through a suitable aperture provided therefor in the grate 163 and screen 164 and is fitted on its upper end with a cylinder 183 which. is open at each end and extends upwardly beyond the water level determined by the edge 169 of the hutch. The cylinder 183 is secured to the upper end of tube 182 by a plurality of inwardly directed arms 185 formed on the bottom thereof which are provided with screw threads 184 meshing with corresponding threads on the tube 182.

The height of the bottom end of the cylinder above the surface of the screen 164 may be adjusted by sliding the tube 182 up and down in the guide 181. To facilitate this adjustment, there is provided a rack 186 on the tube which meshes with a pinion 187 (Fig. 12) adapted to be rotated by a hand wheel 188. The elevation of the bottom end of the cylinder above the screen 164 is indicated by a pointer 189 (Fig. 11) which cooperates with a scale 190 inscribed on the outer surface of the cylinder 183. Hence, by rotating the hand wheel 188, the bottom end of the cylinder may be adjusted up or down with relation to the screen 164 thereby determining the specific gravity of the material on the screen which will enter the bottom of the cylinder and pass downwardly through the tube 182. 'The refined material discharged from the bottom of the tube 182 may be removed by a conveyor 190 (Figs. 9 and 12) or other suitable conveying or collecting means.

The flow of ore into the jig from the hopper 155 (Fig. 12) is controlled by a pair of gates 192 (see also Fig.9) which are provided for each of the hoppers 155to 158, inclusive. This provides for an even distribution of the ore across the back, or upper end, of the screen 164 so that a. uniform bed or raggingf may be maintained on the screen. I

The. water within the hutch 160 is caused to pulsate back and forth through the screen 164 by reciprocation of the piston 162 which, as' herein shown, is operated. by a. fluid pressure motor 200. As shown in Fig. 14, this motor comprises a vertically disposed cylinder secured at its upper end. to the framework of the jig cell and having a piston rod 201 connected at its lower end to a cross bar 202 which is secured to the piston 162 by rods 203. The stroke of. the piston is controlled by a pair of dogs 204 carried by the piston rod 201 which operate a reversing valve 205 which controls the flow of hydraulic fluid under pressure into the ends of cylinder 200.

The hydraulic circuits for the various fluid pressure motors employed in the ore beneficiating plant are illustrated diagrammaticallyin Fig. 2. As shown in this figure, the. pump 23 draws fluid from the sump 210 and delivers it at a pressure determined by the setting of a relief valve 211 to a pressure line 212. Fluid from the line is delivered to the reversing. valve 89 associated with the ore washer which valves the fluid into one end or. the other of a servomotor 213 which operates a pilot valve 214. Pressure fluid from the line 212 also enters the pilot valve 214 and is delivered to one end or the other of the cylinders of fluid pressure motors 75 and 76 associated with the washer. The flow of fluid under pressure to one of the cylinders is unrestricted while the flow to the other cylinder is restricted by throttle valves 215. Check valves 216 permit unrestricted return flow of the fluid from the cylinders to drain. This arrangement permits one cylinder to take control on each stroke and will prevent, any fighting between the motors 75 and 76. The speed at which the washer is operated, that is, its frequency of oscillation, may be controlled by adjusting the setting of relief valve 211 to the pressurerequired for operating the washer at the desired frequency. A cutoflf valve 217 is inserted in the pressure line 212 for stopping the operation of the washer altogether.

The pump 24, like the pump 23 draws. oil from the sump 210 and supplies it under pressure to the remaining fluid. pressure motors of the system. As shown in Fig. 2, pump 24 delivers fluid at a pressure determined by the setting of a relief valve 220 to a fluid pressure line 221 which is connected through cutofi? valves 222 and throttle valves 223 to fluid pressure motors 39 and 129 which drive the conveyors and trommel, respectively. Hence, these units may either be stopped bymanipulation of valves 222, or their speed may be adjusted as desired. by manipulation of valves 223. The pressure line 221.1ikewise delivers fluid under pressure to each of the motors of the jig cells. In the case of each cell, fluid from the line 221 is passed through a cutoff valve 225 and a throttle valve 226 to a pilot valve 227 which controls the flow of fluid into either end of the cylinder 200 of the motor. The pilot valve 227 is in turn controlled by a servomotor 228 which is operated under the control of the reversing valve 205 which receives fluid under pressure from the line 221. Hence, the speed of operation of each jig cell may be controlled by manipulation of throttle valve 226 while the operation of the cell may be stopped entirely by closing valve 225. As heretofore explained, the stroke of the piston of the jig cell may be determined by the setting of dogs 204 on the piston rod 201 so as to determine the point at which the dogs operate the reversing valve 205. A cutoff valve 229 is provided for shutting down all of the cells 35. v

From the foregoing description of the hydraulic control system of the apparatus, it will. be noted that each unit thereof may be individually controlled thereby greatly facilitating the adjustment of the apparatus for the handling of different types and grades of ore.

Having thus described my invention in. connection with one possible form or embodiment thereof, and having used, therefore, certain specific terms and language herein,

8 a it is to be understood that the present disclosure is illustrative rather than restrictive and that changes and modi fications may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or the scope of the claims which follow.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent, is:

1. An ore washing and classifying apparatus comprising a tank open at the top for receiving the ore to be washed and the wash water therefor, means for oscillating said tank about a substantially vertical axis, a grating in said tank spaced from the bottom thereof for separating the larger pieces of ore from the smaller pieces thereof, and means for delivering the two grades of ore from the tank, said means including a coarse ore discharge chute mounted on the outside of said tank in position to receive the coarse ore collected on said grating, and a fine ore discharge chute mounted on the outside of said tank in position to receive the fine ore collected in the bottom of said tank.

2. The ore washing and classifying apparatus of claim 1 wherein said chutes are both mounted on the same side of said tank, and the bottom of said tank is substantially flat andis inclined with the high side thereof disposed on the side of the tank opposite said chutes.

3. The ore washing and classifying apparatus of claim 1 wherein said chutes each include horizontally disposed screens and a water outlet in the bottom thereof for separating the water from .the ore before it is discharged therefrom.

4. The ore washing and classifying apparatus of claim 1 including means disposed adjacent each of said chutes for receiving the ore therefrom and delivering it to locations remote from said apparatus.

5. The ore washing and classifying apparatus of claim 4 including a trommel situated at one of said locations for receiving the fine ore and classifying it as to size.

6. The ore washing and classifying apparatus of claim 5 including a crusher situated at the other of said locations for receiving the coarse ore and reducing it in size.

7. The ore washing and classifying apparatus of claim 6 wherein the ore from said crusher is delivered onto the conveying means associated with said fine ore discharge chute and said trommel.

8. The ore washing and classifying apparatus of claim 1 wherein said grating is secured to said tank for movement therewith and includes a grizzly mounted on the upper side thereof.

9. The ore washing and classifying apparatus of claim 8 including a plurality of mud-ball spikes projecting upwardly above said grizzly.

10. The ore washing and classifying apparatus of claim 1 wherein said oscillating means includes an oscillatory type fluid pressure motor, and means for regulating the speed and stroke of said motor.

11. The ore washing and classifying apparatus of claim 1 including means for imparting a wobble motion to said tank in both a vertical and a horizontal direction as it is oscillated about the vertical axis by said oscillating means, said wobble motion imparting means comprising three roller bearings uniformly spaced about the periphery of said tank for supporting the tank for oscillation about. its vertical axis, each of saidbearings being formed of upper and lower concave raceways. with a frusto-conical roller interposed therebetween to provide vertical oscillation of said tank, the raceways of one of said bearings being of greater thickness than the raceways of the other two bearings so as to produce a wobble motion to. said tank asittis oscillated horizontally and. vertically by said oscillating means and said roller bearings.

12. The ore washing and classifying. apparatus of claim 11 wherein said one bearing. is disposed on the side of the tank opposite said ore discharge chutes so as to cause the bottom of the tank to be inclined. toward said. chutes.

13. An ore beneficiating apparatus comprising a washer for separating the sand and clayey material from the values in the ore, said washer including means for separating the coarse ore from the fine ore, and means for separately discharging each of said sizes of ore from the washer, a trommel for classifying the ore into different sizes, an ore crusher for reducing coarse ore to fine ore, means for receiving the coarse ore from said washer and delivering it to said ore crusher, and a belt conveyor associated with both said washer and said crusher for receiving the fine ore from each and delivering it to said trommel.

14. The ore beneficiating apparatus of claim 13 including a plurality of receivers beneath said trommel for separately collecting the difierent sizes of ore discharge from the trommel, a jig cell associated with each of said receivers for separating the values from the ore, and a vertically adjustable discharge conduit mounted with its top end disposed above a screen within the jig cell for determining the specific gravity of the refined ore on the screen and discharging same through itsbottom end.

15. An ore washing and classifying apparatus comprising a tank open at the top for receiving the ore to be washed and wash water therefor, means for oscillating said tank about a substantially vertical axis, means for imparting a wobble motion to said tank in both a vertical and a horizontal direction as it is oscillated about the vertical axis by said oscillating means, said wobble motion imparting means comprising a plurality of antifriction bearings spaced about the periphery of said tank for supporting the tank for oscillation about its vertical axis, each of said bearings being formed of upper and lower raceways with antifriction means interposed therebetween to provide vertical oscillation of said tank, the raceways of one bearing being of greater thickness than the raceways of the other hearing or bearings so as to produce a wobble motion to said tank as it is oscillated horizontally and vertically by said oscillating means and said antifriction bearings, a grating in said tank spaced from the bottom thereof for separating the larger pieces of ore from the smaller pieces thereof, and means for delivering the two grades of ore from the tank, said means including a coarse ore discharge chute mounted on the outside of said tank in position to receive the coarse ore collected on said grating and a fine ore discharge chute mounted on the outside of said tank in position to receive the fine ore collected in the bottom of said tank.

16. The ore washing and classifying apparatus of claim 15 wherein the bearings are so disposed for causing the bottom of the tank to be inclined toward said chute.

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